


Christmas Decor

by JasnNCarly



Series: Michael and Steffy (Crossover series) [17]
Category: General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful
Genre: Crossover Pairing, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2020-07-09 00:43:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19878784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: The Morgans celebrate Christmas.





	Christmas Decor

**Author's Note:**

> This follows the AU I've created for these two

“Daddy, where did this one come from?”  
  
Michael stopped busying himself with lights to turn to Phoebe, smiling as her delicate fingers touched the silver ornament hanging on their fresh Christmas tree.  
  
 _“It’s Phoebe’s angel.”_  
  
Immediately, he placed his hand on her shoulder, massaging the muscle, “Steffy?”  
  
“It’s okay. It’s just—sometimes I forget I don’t have her anymore.”  
  
It was the first time he had celebrated Christmas with Steffy; it seemed like a lifetime ago. It was before his daughter was even a thought, before Steffy’s grandmother had died, and before Michael had believed he was capable of having a family of his own.  
  
“This one isn’t mine, but it’s got my name on it.” She turned to face him with wide green eyes sparkling underneath her sandy blonde waves, “Is this auntie’s?”  
  
Michael put the lights down for a minute, giving a small nod and moving to sit with her on the floor. Sitting crisscross beside her, he smiled as her naturally pink lips formed an even larger smile.   
  
“That’s so cool.” Michael watched as Phoebe stood to her feet touching ornaments Steffy had retrieved from buried boxes, “When did we get it?”  
  
“A looooong time ago.” Michael began to tap ornaments as he added further details, “Before your pink bootie, before the obnoxious singing penguin, and definitely before the sugar plum fairies.”  
  
“You mean before the tree was perfect?”  
  
Michael chuckled at his daughter’s confidence, certain the Forrester genes outdid his in most areas of her tiny lady boss attitude, “Absolutely what I meant.”  
  
“Are there anymore?”  
  
“I don’t know. Let’s see.” Michael shuffled around some tinsel, shrugging his shoulders, “Doesn’t look like it.”  
  
“Wait!” Phoebe practically fell into the box, causing her dad to immediately steady her stand and prevent her from tumbling into the tinsel, “I don’t remember this.”  
  
Pulling out a silver etched ornament, the flat round frame with the emblem of Saint Jude; Michael nearly felt the wind knocked out of him at the sight of Phoebe frowning in confusion.  
  
“What is it?”

The same question he was forced when bestowing a similar gift on Steffy that same night years ago; Phoebe’s frown lines an amusing reminder of his explanation that followed. Rather than complicate it, force his daughter to indulge that moment, Michael simplified his explanation, “It’s something I got your mommy a long time ago to say thank you.”  
  
“For what?”  
  
Michael could spend hours explaining the details to his daughter, but she didn’t deserve it. She would be bored out of her mind if it was not explained as a fairytale. If Steffy wasn’t a princess and he wasn’t a prince, she’d pout and roll her eyes. So, again, he simplified things, “Mommy fixed me…when I was pretty broken.”  
  
Without announcing her presence, Michael could feel her in the room; their eyes joined as she entered with a tray of hot chocolate but froze before taking a seat.  
  
Phoebe’s lip protruded despite his efforts to avoid it, “Broken?”  
  
“Yeah,” Michael’s voice was soft, slightly strained, “I didn’t want to be fixed either. But Mommy…she’s not good at listening.”  
  
“I heard that.” Steffy carefully made her way into the room, glaring at Michael when he attempted to get up. It was the familiar ‘I am pregnant, not incapable’ look that he was used to so he remained seated.   
  
Once she took a seat on the sofa nearby, Phoebe jumped to her feet and rushed to her mother, “Daddy said you didn’t listen because you fixed him.” She tilted her head, picking at her mother’s sweater, “What’s that mean?”  
  
“That’s a great question.” Steffy turned her daughter back to Michael, stroking her hair, “You got some ‘splaining to do, Blondie.”  
  
Michael hated to be put on the spot; though he loved the hell out of his girls, the whole speaking to an audience thing was still a little jarring. Part of him wondered if the baby baking in Steffy’s belly was waiting for an explanation, arms crossed and all.  
  
Thinking in the simplest terms, smiling to himself, Michael extended a hand to his daughter; once her tiny fingers slid into his grasp, he responded, “I want you to think real hard. Do you remember when Mommy made us watch _The Grinch_?”  
  
“A classic!” Steffy teased, continuing to watch them intently.   
  
“You remember how his heart was small?” Phoebe nodded before Michael continued, “That was Daddy…except mine was broken into a thousand pieces too.”  
  
“Then Mommy put it together?”  
  
“Yep, even when I thought I’d have to live my whole life that way.” After a quick glance at his tearful wife, Michael choked back his grief. A life that felt like it belonged to another person, consumed with guilt and shamed by his actions. All of that seemed completely washed away as he sat safe within the adoration of his girls, “Then, we had you…and my heart grew twice its size. And…when your little brother or sister is born…it will grow all over again.”  
  
Phoebe squinted her eyes at her father, using her free hand to play with his short hair and sigh, “Your hair is way better than the Grinch, daddy.”   
  
“That’s probably your mom’s doing too.”


End file.
